Frombork Cathedral, on the eastern shore of the Bay of
Gdańsk, contains a very large number of incised slabs
and other monuments to members of the Cathedral
Chapter. Frombork (otherwise Frauenburg) was in the
little Catholic enclave of Warmia (otherwise Ermland)
surrounded by Protestant Prussia. Although much of the
population was German speaking, these two late
seventeenth-century Canons were obviously Polish. Their
peculiar interest is that they are shown as skeletons
leaning on inscribed plinths. Canon Szolc is on the
north side, on the eighth pillar from the west, Canon
Bużenski on the south, on the fourth pillar from the
west. One is a mirror image of the other, both facing
east.

Above: Canon Szolc

Above: Canon Bużenski

Canon Szolc came first; he was custodian of the
Chancellary of the Diocese of Warmia, and prepared his
slab in 1682, “being alive and well”. Canon Bużenski
followed two years later; he was Dean of Warmia. Both
died in 1692, the dates being added to the slabs.

Above: Vesalius engraving

What is remarkable is that they are clearly copied from
an engraving in a book of anatomy, De Humani Corporis
Fabrica, by Andreas Vesalius, 1543, as shown on the
temporary hording surrounding the Bodleian Library’s
extensive transmogrifications. The only significant
difference is that the Frombork skeletons ponder an
hourglass instead of a skull. That such a book was in
the Chapter library need not surprise us: the Canons of
Frombork were very erudite, indeed one of them, Mikołai
Kopernik, received a special commendation from the Pope
for his interesting astronomical discoveries in the
1540s.